DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, or any other recognisable characters/programs. I am not making any money from this story.
A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and adds! A few people seem worried that I may be planning to kill characters off. Not wanting to give anything away but I don't really enjoy killing off characters. Maiming and whumping, yep, but not killing. Recap of abilities in case you've forgotten;
Morgan: Shape-Shifter/Strength.Prentiss:Telekinesis/Freeze Time. Rossi:Force Fields/Healer. Hotch:Phase/Solidify Body Mass. JJ:Telepathic/Teleportation. Garcia: Technopath (can talk to/control technology)/Invisibility. Reid:Empathic (Sense and alter emotions, absorb memories through touch)/Mimicry (copy others abilities)
Heroes – Chapter Four
Before anyone could answer the youngest member of the team, the screen on the wall flickered to life again showing Buxton, once again sitting at his desk. "I see you've all discovered your new abilities." He said, looking around the group. None of them spoke. "The door in the training room is now unlocked." He continued. "You'll find whatever you need in there to help you with your training."
"Like The Room Of Requirements?" Garcia asked, looking puzzled. She had stopped crying now and was starting to feel much more herself again.
"The what?" Morgan asked. He too had felt the cloud of guilt and, well, he didn't really know what it was, but it was gone none the less.
"Harry Potter." Reid said, looking up at Morgan. "They have a Room of Requirements." He said, smiling shyly. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of what was happening. He still couldn't believe that he'd hurt JJ...
"Yea," Prentiss added, nodding. "Turns in to whatever you need."
Morgan looked from Prentiss to Reid to Garcia. "You've all read Harry Potter?"
"You haven't?" Hotch asked, looking genuinely surprised. Rossi nodded as if agreeing with Hotch and the others.
"Without meaning to break up your little..." Buxton shrugged. "Whatever it is, I think you're loosing focus." He waited until he had the team's full attention again. "We don't have much time. Sanders and his team are growing stronger by the day."
"So what is it you expect us to do, exactly?" Hotch asked folding his arms.
"You have it within you already to control your abilities." Buxton said, "They were born from what you already are."
"That's useful." Prentiss muttered under her breath.
"You've already managed to use them." Buxton went on, ignoring Prentiss' sarcasm. "You need to focus on what made that possible." He sighed. "There's a screen located in the rear of the fireplace. To access it, there's a button to the right hand side. Use it if you need me. Until then, you'll find everything you need close by."
Before anyone could speak again, the screen went black.
"Real useful." Prentiss said, raising one eyebrow and pursing her lips.
Rossi shook his head, not sure what to make of the last encounter with their captor. "I'm going to make some dinner. I don't know about you guys, but I'm famished."
"You cook?" JJ asked, smirking.
"Hey!" Rossi exclaimed, "I'm Italian! Of course I cook!" He laughed a little then left the room.
"I'll see if he needs any help." JJ said, following him. She glanced back at Reid and smiled as reassuringly as she could then left. Her side was still hurting but she didn't want to make a fuss over it, Reid felt bad enough as it was over it without her adding more drama to the situation.
"I'm gonna go check out the Room of Requirements." Garcia said cheerfully.
"Ooh," Prentiss said, "I'll come too." She smiled at the rest of the team then turned to follow Garcia.
Hotch watched them leave then turned to face Morgan. "If I ever find you as me, dancing, again," He said in a menacing tone that Morgan knew was being put on for effect. "You won't have the chance to live to regret it." A small smiled crept on his face before he turned to leave the room.
"What was that about?" Reid asked, watching the retreating form of Hotch with a confused look on his face.
Morgan chuckled. "I may or may not have changed into Hotch and danced provocatively in front of the girls."
Reid couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Hotch doing the 'Morgan Dance'.
Morgan sat down on the bed next to Reid. "So, you plan on joining us any time soon?" He asked. Reid just shrugged in response. "Look, Man," Morgan went on. "I know you must be having a hard time dealing with all of this but you got two options. One, you sit around in here all day on your own and have all of us out there worry our asses off about you. Or two, and crappy as this is, you try and learn to use what you got. Sitting on your own isn't going to make any this better." He smiled a little at the younger man. "And if we wake up and this has all been a freaky dream, at least you'll have dreamt you were a pretty cool superhero."
Reid didn't speak; he just looked at Morgan and raised one eyebrow.
"Ok, I know you got the touch thing," Morgan continued, kicking himself for not being a little more considerate in his choice of words. "But you can't just sit around here, Man. Come out with us. Granted there's not much to do but it's gotta beat sitting on your own moping."
Reid went to speak but stopped himself. He was about to say that he wasn't moping. But when he thought about it, maybe he was? He knew the rest of the team were all going through this. Him locking himself away and feeling sorry for himself, he realised, was not helping the situation.
"Anyway," Morgan said, bringing Reid out of his thoughts. "At least now you may stand a chance of beating Hotch in an arm wrestle." Morgan smiled and Reid couldn't help but laugh again.
"You're right," He said, still smiling a little. "I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass too."
Morgan laughed. "Don't get too carried away, Pretty Boy." He patted Reid on the shoulder. "This is hard for all of us, but as long as were here to get each other through it, we'll be fine." He smiled again. "And when this is all over, was can be the world's first team of FBI Superheroes."
(((((())))))
JJ stood next to Rossi in the kitchen. The man didn't really need any help, but JJ needed a reason to leave the bedroom. She sighed, replaying the events that had happened with Reid.
"So," Rossi said, speedily chopping an onion. "Tonight we shall be having Pasta Arabi..." He trailed off when he turned to face her. "You Ok?" Rossi asked, noticing the woman's demeanour.
JJ nodded, wincing a little as her side jolted.
"Here," Rossi said, putting down the knife he was using, "Let me have a look."
"I'm fine, honest," JJ began to protest, but Rossi cut her off.
"You've bruised a rib." He said, sternly.
JJ looked at him confused. "How do you know?" She asked, realisation dawning on her as she did so. "You can heal people." She said more to herself.
Rossi nodded. "And unless someone breaks a leg, God forbid, I don't see me getting much chance to practice." He smiled. "What have you got to loose?"
"I could end up with no ribcage?" JJ suggested sarcastically. She winced again when she tired to laugh. "Ok." She sighed in defeat.
"Now, I'll be the first to admit I'm not one hundred percent on how to do this..." He said, moving his hand to hover slightly above JJ injured side. "I'm guessing I just..." As the words left his mouth a pale yellow light seemed to bounce back and forth between Rossi's hand and JJ's ribcage.
"I'll be damned." JJ said after he'd finished. Her side no longer hurt. "That is cool." She said, looking from her side to Rossi.
Rossi smiled and winked. "Piece o' cake." He said, turning back to face his onions.
(((((())))))
The rest of the team, except Rossi who was still in the kitchen, were sat around on the three sofas.
"He said we already had it in us," Hotch said, going over what Buxton had said for the hundredth time.
"What about Reid?" Garcia asked. Everyone turned to look at her. "Well, if we all have it in us to control what we do, does Reid? I mean he does what we do but not because it's part of him, and I was wondering..."
"Baby Girl," Morgan interrupted. "You're making my head hurt." He smiled and Garcia smiled back apologetically.
"It's a good question, though." Reid said, looking around the group. "I had no control over what happened with JJ, it just kinda happened."
"We'll work it out," Prentiss said, placing a reassuring hand on his leg and smiling a little.
"How long for dinner?" Morgan called into the kitchen.
"Patience is a virtue!" Rossi called back, before swearing.
"You Ok?" Hotch called, standing to see if he could assist the older man.
"Yea," Rossi called back, sounding annoyed. "I just cut myself. Do you know if there's any..."
"Dave?" Hotch called, now almost behind him.
"Plasters..." Rossi finished his sentence. "But never mind." He turned to face Hotch and held up the finger he'd cut. Although there was a little blood on it, the cut itself was gone. Rossi pointed at the finger and nodded as if pleased with himself.
Hotch shook his head and walked back to the sofa.
(((((())))))
The next few days passed without much incident. Morgan had taken to grabbing people from behind to see if they could escape his grasp. He was dismayed to discover that everybody, except Garcia, could easily escape from his grip using one of their abilities. It was during one of Morgan's 'Bear Hugs' that JJ had discovered she was able to teleport people with her if she was in contact with them, and that Prentiss could keep people 'unfrozen' if she was touching them also.
The game, however, had come to an end when Morgan had attempted to grab Reid one day, only for the younger man to free himself easily, throwing Morgan across the room and into a wall accidently.
The room to the back of the Training Room had indeed contained whatever they had needed. The room itself was almost the same size as the rest of their 'home' put together. It held regular fitness equipment and items to help harness each of their abilities, as well as a stockpile of books on various subject, presumably for entertainment purposes. The stocks in the kitchen and bathroom seemed to be filled regularly without anyone in the team noticing.
Hotch and Rossi were currently in the Training Room. Prentiss was sat on one of the sofas with JJ discussing the last few days, which also included an incident where Garcia had accidently blown all the fuses when trying to communicate with a control panel on the door to the bathroom. Morgan was having a shower and could be heard singing loudly and out of tune.
Everyone had pretty much learnt to control their abilities with just a few kinks that needed ironing out. Reid had learnt to control his emotions, and was now able to project emotions onto others at will. He was, however, struggling a little with his other ability. They'd discovered that he could best mimic others the closer they were to him. He was now sat on the floor just outside the kitchen with Garcia. Both were sat cross legged.
"Come on, it's easy." Garcia said, turning her arm invisible and then back to normal.
"Yea, that's easy for you to say!" Reid said sounding exasperated. Invisibility was the one thing he was really struggling with. That, Shape Shifting and Phasing. The rest he'd picked up fairly quickly, and although he wasn't necessarily as fast or skilled as the other he could still use their abilities effectively.
Prentiss looked over at the two on the floor and laughed a little as she saw the grin spread across Reid's face when he managed to copy Garcia and make his arm disappear. She'd been worried about him, they all had. But they last few days Reid's attitude seemed to have changed completely. Although he still didn't allow himself to sit or stand too near to the others – with the exception of Morgan when playing his 'Bear Hug' game and Rossi, who for unknown reasons was able to touch the younger man - he seemed much more himself. She turned to face JJ when the blonde woman spoke.
"Have you seen where the book I was reading is?" She asked, looking around her with a confused look on her face.
"It's on your bedside table." Prentiss said.
JJ groaned. "Can you get if for me?"
Prentiss shook her head. "Can't get it if I can't see it." She smiled sweetly. Her telekinesis only worked if she could see what it was she was moving, and the bedroom door was closed. "Stop being lazy." She said, chuckling a little at the dismayed look on JJ's face.
JJ shrugged. "How long do you think Morgan's gonna be?" She asked, cringing a little as Morgan missed a particularly high note. Prentiss shook her head and shrugged. JJ sighed and closed her eyes. Prentiss didn't even flinch when the weight on the sofa shifted and JJ disappeared.
A few seconds later, a loud scream emitted from the bathroom. Prentiss stood, Garcia and Reid now next to her. Hotch and Rossi had also come running from the Training Room.
A few seconds later, a soaking wet JJ came running from the Bathroom muttering apologies, followed closely by Morgan, who had only a towel wrapped around his waist. "JJ, what the hell!" He shouted, suddenly a little embarrassed to be standing in front of everyone in no more than a towel.
"I don't know, Morgan! I'm sorry!" JJ cried back, covering her eyes with her hand despite the fact she'd seen everything already.
"What happened?" Hotch asked, surveying the odd scene before him.
"JJ was going to get a book outta the bedroom." Prentiss answered.
"You couldn't just walk?" Morgan said, staring at her.
"I'm sorry!" JJ said again, looking at everyone but Morgan. "I was wondering about how long you were going to be in the shower and then..." She trailed off.
"You ended up in the shower?" Rossi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Garcia did her best to suppress a giggle. "Gotta admit I'm a little jealous I didn't get a ticket to that show." She said, raising an eyebrow. Prentiss let out a little laugh. Morgan, however, did not look impressed.
"Wait," Reid said, not registering what Garcia had said. "You were thinking about Morgan?"
JJ nodded. "Not in the shower though..." She muttered, glancing at the semi clad man next to her.
"Reid?" Hotch prompted when the younger man didn't speak for a few moments.
Reid looked at Hotch as if forgetting what was going on for a brief second. He then turned to face JJ. "Think about Rossi and try again." He said.
JJ shrugged, but saw no harm in trying. She closed her eyes, thinking of the oldest team member. To her surprise, when she opened them again, she was standing next to him. "Ok," she said, looking at Reid. "And that just proved what?"
Reid furrowed his brow as if unsure of what he was saying. "I think you can lock on to people."
"Sorry, what?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If you think about someone," Reid explained. "Like you were thinking about Morgan. I think you can locate them and..." He trailed off, shrugging.
"Like a tracking device?" Morgan asked, forgetting he was semi-naked. Reid nodded.
"Hey, Morgan?" Prentiss asked, turning to face him. Morgan looked at her but didn't speak. "You fancy putting some clothes on today?" She asked, smiling.
"Now why would you have to go and ruin it?" Garcia cried.
(((((()))))
After Morgan was dressed, and JJ had practiced her new 'Tracking' ability, the team were sat around playing cards from a deck that Rossi had found. Reid had opted not to play, but was sitting next to Rossi watching the game of poker unfold. So far JJ had won two ands and Morgan one. Prentiss had won two.
"You sure you don't want to play?" Hotch asked, shuffling the cards.
"You guys thought I cheated before," Reid said, smiling a little. "You'll never believe I won on my own merit now."
JJ laughed. It was true. The team had been convinced she'd cheated by reading their thoughts every time they'd been dealt a card or picked one up. "They're just scared, Reid." She said, smiling.
Before Hotch had finished dealing, a loud 'beep' sounded from the fireplace, shortly followed by the screen hidden inside rising, showing Buxton at his desk. "Team." He greeted, not waiting for a response. "I have news on Sanders." He continued grimly. "I know what he's planning."
(((((())))))
Bit shorter than usual, sorry. Hope you enjoyed. Nearly at the action –yey! Let me know what you think (if you would be so kind :) ) Sorry for the delay updating. Went away for a few days, but I'm back now! Struggled a bit with this chapter so I hope it was ok!